98 Ford Windstar issue

[jta1028]

98 Windstar GL 3.8

White smoke out of tailpipe, and white smoke coming from engine today. Don't see any leaks under the hood and went to buy Bars Leaks Head Gasket Fix. Went to put it in the radiator and it was full. How do I get it in because I can't find where the radiator drain is?

[wiswind]

Radiator drain is located on the driver's side.....rear side of the plastic side tank of the radiator assembly.

[northern piper]

do you mean to say that the reservior was full to the brim and you couldn't pour the stop leak in as there was no room? The overflow has a hot/cold mark on it which should be obeyed. I'd expect if you're getting the smoke as you say than you're burning coolant so it should be down not as full as you indicate. For the quantity of the stop leak to add you could easily take a turkey baster and remove some of the existing coolant and replace with the stop leak. Something is fishy if your overflow is right to the cap.

Piper

[wiswind]

You will want to put the Bar's Stop Leak into the radiator.....not the overflow tank.
Also, it is possible for the overflow tank to have coolant in it, and have the radiator be low or even empty (hopefully not empty).
Remember to let the vehicle cool down before removing the radiator cap.

[northern piper]

thanks Wiswind, I was unclear in my previous post. Yes, the stop leak goes in the actual rad, not the reservoir. My point was that something is up with your cooling system. Possibly a large amount of air in the system but I'd get it checked out soon. I have a friend who just last week had a van with similar problems, used the stop leak, blocked his rad which eventually exploded. I think if he'd found the leak and not used the stop leak gunk he'd have been better off.

Piper